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Shoppers Turn More Often to the Internet than to Specialty Gift Stores for Gifts A new study of the giftware market identifies key opportunities for future growth Stevens, PA March 31, 2008 -- Where people buy gifts is changing dramatically with more people saving time and money buying gifts over the Internet, rather than going to the store to shop. This according to the latest market research study of the $65.2 billion gifts and decorative accents market conducted by Unity Marketing. In 2007 the Internet was the second most important shopping venue for giftware shoppers, trailing only discount department stores as a place of purchase. For purposes of this study giftware is defined as items that are designed and manufactured to be bought and given as a gift or collectible items that are designed and manufactured specifically for the purpose of collecting. The giftware market includes items such as occasion-specific giftware, personalized giftware, character-licensed giftware, collectible figurines, and others. Commenting on the emergence of the Internet as the second most popular source for consumers to buy giftware, Pam Danziger, president of Unity Marketing and author of Shopping: Why We Love It and How Retailers Can Create the Ultimate Customer Experience, says, "The Internet came from virtually nowhere just five years ago to become the second most important channel of distribution for giftware companies. While discount stores take the lions' share of the giftware market, consumers value the convenience and ability to comparison shop in order to find exactly what they are looking for in the online world. This plus the ability to ship gifts conveniently to the recipient makes the Internet a favorite place for people to shop for gifts." Specialty gift stores are losing their edge as a distribution channel for giftware As the way people shop for gifts has changed, the industry's traditional channel of distribution, the specialty gift store, has continued to decline in importance as a place where people shop for gifts. In 2007 the gift specialty stores accounted for only 7 percent of the overall giftware market. Not surprisingly, the study reports that the number of specialty gift shops have declined 21 percent in the past five years, from 75,102 stores in 2002 to 59,032 today. The specialty gift stores that remain have found success by expanding the product lines they carry, particularly moving into personal care, jewelry, fashion accessories, music and other related items popular to boutique shoppers. As the industry's manufacturers become less reliant on specialty gift stores for distribution, so too are gift stores becoming less reliant upon the gift manufacturers for new merchandise. Drawing on the results of the study, Danziger explains, "The key for success for both manufacturers and retailers of giftware products is to stay out in front of the consumer, offering them products that are out of the ordinary, new, fresh and special. The giftware market is a fashion business and companies are rewarded primarily for innovating and offering something new to consumers. Successful retailers are merchandising their stores with this in mind. When it comes to choosing giftware, nobody wants the 'same-old, me-too' items; rather they want something fresh, new and different which makes it memorable. That is the ultimate key to success in today's giftware market." About Unity Marketing's Gifts & Decorative Accents Report 2008: Who Buys Gifts and Home Decorative Accents, What They Buy and Why They Buy Unity Marketing's Gifts and Decorative Accents Report 2008 is the definitive study of this $65.2 billion market. It reveals consumers' buying and spending habits related to giftware and home decorative accessories. The new study is written by Pam Danziger, the nation's leading expert on the gifts market. The Gifts and Decorative Accents Report 2008 is based upon both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. It includes a survey among 1,644 recent buyers of one of 26 product categories (average income $75,100; age 42.4 years and 68 percent female/32 percent male). This report provides vital market size, growth and demographics for anyone and everyone that sells giftware and home accents, from marketers, advertisers, retailers, service providers. The Gifts & Decorative Accents Report 2008 is an essential business tool to understand the dynamics of this market, today and into the future. Special Investigation: Consumers' shopping preferences for gifts and home decorative accents The value of this report is enhanced for product marketers and retailers through its special investigation into the shoppers' preference and attitudes related to specific types of stores where gifts and home accents can be found. Stores included in this special investigation are:
Products included in the survey Home Decorative Accents
Giftware
Special Pre-Publication Offer: Unity Marketing is offering a special pre-publication price of $3,500 for this report through April 30, 2008. Thereafter, it will be offered at its published price of $3,995. For Media: Charts, tables and graphs are available upon request. About Pam Danziger and Unity Marketing Pamela N. Danziger is an internationally recognized expert specializing in consumer insights, especially for marketers and retailers that sell luxury goods and experiences to the masses or the 'classes.' She is president of Unity Marketing, a marketing consulting firm she founded in 1992. Advising such clients as PPR, Diageo, Stearns & Foster, Waterford/Wedgwood, Lenox, Prudential Fine Homes, Orient-Express Hotels, Marie Claire magazine, Italian Trade Commission, The World Gold Council, The Conference Board and American Express, Danziger taps consumer psychology to help clients navigate and master the changing luxury consumer marketplace. In recognition of her ground-breaking work in the luxury consumer market, Pam received the Global Luxury Award presented by Harper's Bazaar for top luxury industry achievers in 2007. Her latest book is Shopping: Why We Love It and How Retailers Can Create the Ultimate Customer Experience, published by Kaplan Publishing in October 2006. Her other books include Let Them Eat Cake: Marketing Luxury to the Masses—as well as the Classes, (Dearborn Trade Publishing, $27, hardcover) and Why People Buy Things They Don't Need: Understanding and Predicting Consumer Behavior (Chicago: Dearborn Trade Publishing, 2004).  |
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